


Boy and Bear

by aspermoth



Category: Original Work
Genre: Childhood, Gen, Sad, Toys, teddy bear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-27
Updated: 2011-12-27
Packaged: 2017-10-28 05:20:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/304195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aspermoth/pseuds/aspermoth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sad tale of a boy and his bear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Boy and Bear

The swing at the bottom of the garden hung from a tree with a trunk twice as wide as Ralph was, and its seat was tied to its biggest branch with thick, rough ropes that burned your hands if you weren't careful when you jumped off. Ralph and Osborn the teddy bear had spent all afternoon in the garden, fighting pirates and smugglers and villains of all kinds, and now there was nothing left to do except sit on the swing and wait for Mother to call them in to tea.

Although the end of summer threatened in the redness of the leaves above his head, it was very warm, warm enough that Ralph had no need for shirt nor shoes, and his skin was tanned a deep brown. But the warm weather made him lazy, too, and he did not swing with enthusiasm. Instead, he pushed himself idly back and forth with the toes of his foot, one slim brown arm wrapped around a rope, the other clutching Osborn to his chest.

Osborn the bear was old, very old, as old as Ralph was himself, and he showed all the signs of a bear much loved. His fur was worn, one ear was missing and one beady black eye was dangling by a thread. But as he gazed crookedly out over the garden, he smiled to himself.

It was late. The sun hung low in the sky, big and round and red, and Ralph pushed himself back and forth, back and forth. Osborn could feel Ralph's heart beating in his chest, and it made him feel safe, because Ralph was with him and he was with Ralph and they would always be together, boy and bear. Forever.

He never saw it coming.

"You know, Osborn," said Ralph, a serious expression on his face, "Mother says that once I go away to school, I'm not going to be back until Christmas."

Osborn nodded solemnly. He knew all about "going to school": Ralph had told him everything, and more. About "studying" and "times tables" and "dates" and all the other things that he would be learning, so that he could "grow up". It worried him, a little, but not too much. After all, a boy never really forgets his bear.

"And," Ralph continued, "there might not be any trees to climb at school. Do you think we'll get out of practise?"

There was a brief silence, a comfortable one, but one filled with expectation for what was to come. Ralph gazed up at the patches of blue sky between the red and gold leaves above them.

"Shall we climb it just one last time?"

The answer was obvious, and there was no time like the present.

To Ralph and Osborn, the tree was everything and anything they wanted it to be. Today, it was a pirate ship (after all, it was all very well fighting pirates but being one was another thing altogether and far more exciting). The broad bows were the decks, the leaves were sails, and the highest branch that they could possibly reach was the crow's nest, where they could stand and stare out all across the ocean (or rather, the house and countryside). And everything was marvellous until it happened.

Ralph and Osborn were in the crow's nest as a particularly fearsome crew of enemy pirates came into view. Ralph, a twig pressed to his eye in lieu of a telescope, sat up sharply with a surprised "I say!"

And Osborn slipped.

He could feel himself going, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. He heard Ralph shout his name and felt frantic fingertips brush his fur, but they were just out of reach, and he was falling, falling, and something else was falling too, something bigger and heavier with flailing arms that screamed and-

A loud thud. Osborn hit the ground not longer after with a soft _flump_ and a bounce that propelled him beneath a nearby hedge. And then there was silence.

But not for long. There was a worried shout, then a scream of horror. Voices, frantic voices, screaming voices, crying voices, but as hard as Osborn listened, he couldn't hear Ralph's voice.

And then the voices went away, and Osborn was left alone.

It was cold underneath the hedge, and damp, and dark. Slugs oozed over his paws; beetles scuttled over his face; and a particularly brazen spider spun its web between his ears. But Osborn didn't mind because Ralph would surely come and find him soon. After all, they hadn't finished their pirate game yet. And after that, they were going to go inside for tea and then go off to bed, and then Ralph was going to go away to school and Osborn would wait for him on his bed until he came home again.

Summer ended. The first autumn rains soaked Osborn through, chilling him right through his stuffing, but still he believed that Ralph would come and find him. The leaves fell from the hedge and covered him like confetti and still he trusted in Ralph. Then the snows of winter came and buried him in cold whiteness, and still he trusted. Still he believed.

But Ralph never, ever came back.

A toy only lives as long as a child believes in its life. Even strong love, like Ralph's for Osborn, can only sustain a toy for so long if the child is taken away. And one dark, cold, snowy night, the last sparks of life faded from Osborn like the light fading from a dying Tinkerbell.

And somewhere beyond thought and sight and sound, in a place no living creature can reach, the ghost of a small boy named Ralph found his teddy bear Osborn, picked him up, and pressed him to his chest once more.

" _I knew I'd find you_ ," he said.

And Osborn could feel Ralph's heart beating in his chest, and it made him feel safe, because Ralph was with him and he was with Ralph and they would always be together, boy and bear.

Forever.


End file.
